Introduction

The hot, humid conditions which encourage a wide variety of life in the rain forests, change little during the year. Daily variations are greater than seasonal ones. The average temperature is about 27°C, while the rainfall (may be as high as 160 inches) falls regularly - often in heavy thunder-storms.

Animals of the rain forests are provided with a variety of habitats in the different layers of the forest trees. Some live at the top of the tallest trees while others live in the lower zones. Some animals, live on the ground level or even below the surface and so we have this vast and complex pattern of plant and animal life which has been evolving steadily for millions of years.

Sadly, humans can all too easily upset the delicate 'balance of nature' and this is already happening in South America and Indonesia where vast areas of forests have been cleared and the plight of already rare species has been made even more precarious. The forests are being cut down to either sell and export the timber or to clear areas due to the demand for more land by an ever increasing population.